They may still be a local Southern Californian band, but HDR is definitely on its way to making a name for itself. The group has played just about every major venue around,  including a leg on last year's Warped Tour and a tour with Bad Religion. HDR is a three-piece, featuring vocalist and guitarist Joe Mora, bassist, guitarist and keyboardist Amy Tung and drummer Johnny Lord.

"Our sound is a mix of old Black Sabbath meets ZZ Top with a new twist," Mora says. "I like to sometimes say it's like when you heard Zeppelin the first time in eighth grade and you were like, 'Whoa.' That's what we're going for.

"We started the band in 2001," continues Mora. "Johnny and I were working together at an equipment rental place, like for musical equipment. We'd rent out gear for bands. Amy and I we just became friends, we met at different shows, and we were hanging one night and we were a little buzzed. She had a bass there and a fuzz pedal and an amp and I was like, 'Let's just tune your bass down really low and write really heavy Black Sabbath-like riffs, but sing about Tonka trucks, something funny.' The band started out as a joke for fun and then I asked Johnny at work if he wanted to play with us and he said he was totally down." 

The band's MySpace states: hard-core - dub - rock, I wonder if this is how they got their moniker.

"Our name is like our KISS makeup thing," responds Mora. "We let people figure out what they want it to be. We tried not to have it be an acronym. It doesn't stand for anything, but sometimes we says since it's two guys and a girl and she's Asian- Hot Dogs and Rice, people like that one. People have come up with a bunch of different ones- High Desert Rock, it's the perfect sound if you're driving to Vegas through the High Desert. Sometimes we say we each picked a letter. 

I ask Mora about his childhood.

"I'm from the Pedrini Music family." Mora explains, "My grandfather started the Pedrini Music, the store in Glendale, his brother started the one in Alhambra. I've been playing guitar since I was 14. When I was in fourth grade I played saxophone for a bit. I started guitar actually in third grade, but it was difficult and I didn't like it. I picked it up again in seventh grade and I haven't stopped."

Mora studied writing and arranging at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, while Tung is a classically trained pianist and attended the Musicians Institute of Los Angeles. Both are music teachers. Mora also provides music for MTV shows such as "Nitro Circus" and "Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory." HDR is very tied in with "Jackass," Rick Kosick photographer and crew member for the show is a big fan and did their video.

Lord went to the Musicians Institute of Los Angeles for percussion and still works at the equipment rental place.

"It's called Center Staging." Mora adds, "We used to rehearse when we first started out and it would be hysterical because we'd be rehearsing next to Christina Aguilera and a lot of R&B groups. We'd be like, 'Oh wow, we're rehearsing next to Bobby Brown.'"

We discuss HDR's writing process.

"I'll come in or Amy'll come in with an initial riff just to spark an idea and we'll play it for each other and get a groove going and see what's up and throw it back and forth with each other," Mora says. "When it comes to melodies, I'll just start singing basic nonsense and then I'll put the words to the melody later on."
 
"Initially we wanted to start a heavy band, but literally sing about heavy stuff. A lot of the heavy music out there was based on hate and violence, that was the last thing we wanted to do. So we were like, 'Let's sing about heavy machinery.' We'd watch the Discovery Channel about tunnel boring machines or tractor trucks, even Tonka trucks, so it was tongue-in-cheek. But then mainly life experiences is what it ended up turning into. If anybody ever questioned us on our lyrics, we'd be like, 'Oh, this is this situation' or 'That happened there.'"

Mora continues by sharing, "Little girls come up to see Amy, she's very inspiring. Even when I was younger I was like, 'A girl in the band, what's that?' I couldn't imagine playing in a band without a female now, it's just a nice twist to balance ideas. It's so adorable when the little punk rock girls come up and say, 'I want to start a band too now.'"

HDR is ready to release its next album, which has been produced by Barry Conley (black Label Society). You can catch them live at venues such as the Viper Room, the Key Club and Whisky-a-Go-Go in Hollywood, The Scene in L.A., Mr. T's Bowl in Highland Park and Old Towne Pub in Pasadena.

"Come out and meet us," says Mora. "We're all very open and friendly people. We love meeting new people."

Find out about HDR's next gig at www.myspace.com/hdrtheband

Also visit my blogs at http://mickieszoo.blogspot.com and www.insidesocal.com/doodah